Door water shields

[AtlantaSteve]

I pulled my door panels off tonight and my water shields are old and try and crummy. I could order a new set from MU/M+ etc, but I got to wondering...is there a better solution? All the new cars I work on use a thick plastic barrier instead of paper...should I try to get some plastic like that, cut it myself, glue it in place with some clear RTV, and do that? Or should I just get the paper kit and let stock be good enough?

Anyone done anything aftermarket, or does EVERYONE just get the papers?

Thanks,

Steve

 

[Jonk67]

I'll have to look in my stash, I think the ones I got last from NPD/MU? were paper with a plastic side to it.
You use the 3M strip tar/caulk/rope stuff to adhere it to the door vs. silicone. A lot easier to peel off when you need to access the door mechanism/lock and reattaches vs. silicone tearing the barrier and having to scrape all the old silicone off an reapply with new barrier.
Jon

 

[Fast68back]

I think the plastic is a better solution, especially if your going to be working on them a lot..

 

[cmayna]

Though I just installed the stock black sided paper water shield on Shag using the 3m drip rope, I remember making my own plastic shield for Red's doors. If I ever need to tear into Shag's doors, think I'll then make plastic ones.

 

[Horseplay]

Honestly, from a guy who makes a living selling plastic films and such I'd recommend using the stock shields. Depending on the film used you could run into lots of issues down the road. My first concern would be adhesion. It takes a pretty aggressive adhesive to hold onto most films. There are additives in the film that are necessary for it's manufacture and many times applicational use that prevent good adhesion to the film surface. Even if something seems to hold well at first over time may be a different story.

My other concern would be the possibility of audible noise caused by the plastic "flapping" inside the door. Plastic film has a very low modulus (stiffness) as compared to the stock piece. By the design of the door assembly I have to believe there is a fair amount of air that rushes through it at speed. The window felts are not going to do much to stop infiltration of "road wind" as you drive. The drain holes in the door shell (and other open orifices) would seem to create the potential for a wind tunnel effect inside the door shell. If you did use plastic I would recommend a minimum of a 6 mil product and it needs to be secured in a manner that leaves it taut.

 

[mustangstofear]

I would try a very thick vinyl, and install it with 3M ribbon caulk strips, that way you could remove it anytime you wanted to work on it. Rich.

 

[daveSanborn]

I think the plastic is a better solution, especially if your going to be working on them a lot..

+1

It never fails that as soon as you order and install the factory correct paper water shields.... you interior/exterior door handle fails to operate the door latch mechanism.... and you end up tearing the paper to fix the problem.... no matter how careful you are when trying to remove it from the adhesive that you took so long to get to adhere in the first place.

 

[Midlife]

Hmmm...I don't think the 3M strip caulk is the right adhesive, but the weatherstrip adhesive (3M Feathering Disc Adhesive, part 08051) is what is usually recommended.

My 65 GT had the strip caulk, and whenever the temperatures got up above 80* or so, that stuff would leak out of the door panel and drip down the door!

 

[mustangstofear]

I use the3M all the time and never have a problem with it sticking. Remember i am in the glass business also and remove late model door panels all day long and that is what the factory uses. Rich.

 

[AtlantaSteve]

Sooo...I was thinking about going to Home Depot to get a plastic barrier of some sort, and then it dawned on me...I have some heavy, thick poly-vinyl plastic sitting in a corner in my garage. And it's specifically designed for water!!

I just think the kids will be pissed when they have two door-panel shaped holes in their slip-n-slide next summer.

Guess it's to the HD I go.

 

[AtlantaSteve]

Thank you everyone for your thoughts! I decided to go with plastic. It's 6Mil Moisture barrier Polyethylene.

Here's a link:
http://www.homedepot.com/h_d1/N-5yc1vZ1xg1/R-100578718/h_d2/ProductDisplay?langId=-1&storeId=10051&catalogId=10053

I cut it up

Got it mounted up on the door panel

Mounting the new Hand grab support:

Here's the new MPProducts Door panel I got.

Installed the clips

Pushed it on:

Finalized install:

Thanks again everyone!

 

[AzPete]

What timing. Was just showing the better half those same door panels. They look good. How are they in real life? I take it the arm rest support comes with them. They do look good. Nice looking job on the water shields too.

 

[AtlantaSteve]

What timing. Was just showing the better half those same door panels. They look good. How are they in real life? I take it the arm rest support comes with them. They do look good. Nice looking job on the water shields too.

Fit is just better than "crappy" moving all the clips around to get them all engaged is a pain, and then I found that it was nearly impossible to have both the front and the rear engaged. I can't tell if that's just due to variance in these cars from the factory, or just a poor fit, The 2 front clips are BARELY hanging on...one on the back completely disengaged from the panel (I just gave up...good enough for gubment work) and the other is likewise barely hanging on. But if I really cared I could drill out holes in the right places and it'd fit great...I just don't want to drill on my 45 year old door.

I'm not 100% sure the bracket comes with the panels...I swiped these up real fast like from a VMFer who posted "Ehh, I had them and wasn't crazy about them and decided to go back to stock." I sent him a PM as soon as the post was up and he gave me a fair deal on them...not sure if the brackets came with it, but I bet dollars to donuts they did.

I like the look A LOT. If you go extra bucks they vinyl coat them...and then there's the metal insert (which I will get one of these days). But the vinyl coating kinda takes away from the minimalist look I'm going for.

OH BTW, RE: The Plastic...for anyone who wants to do the same thing...I have like...freaking...120 sq feet of that crap and maybe used 8? Anyone who wants some, let me know and I'll just put it in an envelope and USPS 1st class it to ya.

 

[monkeystash]

OH BTW, RE: The Plastic...for anyone who wants to do the same thing...I have like...freaking...120 sq feet of that crap and maybe used 8? Anyone who wants some, let me know and I'll just put it in an envelope and USPS 1st class it to ya.

I'd like some please. I can pick it up on Sat, say 5am?

 

[AtlantaSteve]

I'd like some please. I can pick it up on Sat, say 5am?

Roger that!